From Bank Robberies to Fashion Week, Balaclavas are Here
Graphic by Bailey Kretschmer
The world of fashion is a weird place. It’s a place where, in what seems like a blink of the eye, trends previously obsolete, become cool again (we’re looking at you low-rise jeans and flared yoga pants). It’s a place where lines are arbitrarily drawn in the pages of magazines and social media posts to tell us what’s “hot”. Remember when Crocs were more of a meme than an actual choice of footwear? Now brands like Balenciaga are charging ungodly sums of money for their rendition of the elementary school classic. Even for the world of fashion, the sudden surge in popularity of this garment has truly come out of nowhere. Meet fashion's newest “ugly duckling,” the Balaclava.
Now we know what you’re thinking, “WTF is a balaclava” and why does it sound like a dessert. Balaclavas are essentially the highly functional and arguably stylish hybrid of a hat and a face mask. They wrap around your entire head and neck so that the only skin exposed to the elements is your face. Balaclavas are by no means a “new” piece of clothing, their history goes back to 19th century Ukraine and have long been a wardrobe staple for people who work outside, skiers/snowboarders, soldiers, cartoon bank robbers, and people who stormed the American capital last year. But now balaclavas, once only valued for their utility, are dotting our Instagram feed and covering the faces of our favorite celebrities/influencers.
Appearance aside, balaclavas are amazing at doing their job. Whether you’re on your “winter-lasts-way-to-fucking-long” walk to class or your head is freezing because you decided to buy the puffer without a hood, balaclavas got you covered, like… all the way covered.
The meteoric rise of the balaclava can be attributed to many things, but it is impossible to ignore the relationship between a garment that covers your face and a pandemic that has required us all to wear masks for almost 2 years. Although balaclavas may seem like a more “stylish” option than wearing a traditional mask, they are not to be used as a replacement for a real medical-approved mask. The prevalence of them however is a sign that people may be used to covering their faces. I mean think about the idea of people optionally choosing to cover their faces before the pandemic. Now, we’ve gotten used to talking with half our face covered and accepted that all of our “attractiveness” meters are way off, like who knew how much the lower part of a person's face mattered.
The ascension of balaclavas may also be a result of the resurgence of crocheting/knitting. A hobby that was once reserved for grandmas and cat ladies suddenly became everyone’s favorite pastime during quarantine. Hand-crafted balaclavas now fill sites like Depop and Etsy, while bigger companies are selling their own version of knitted balaclavas. Whatever the reason is for the sudden popularity of balaclavas it shows the often volatile and cyclical nature of the fashion industry.
At the end of the day, fashion is whatever the fuck you want it to be, if that means throwing on a balaclava then so be it. We at Jerk just want to make sure that you’re wearing something because you like it, not just because you’ve been force-fed it by social media influencers and fashion magazines.